Courier 3: A Fallout New Vegas Tale
by IchuManayo
Summary: We all know the story of Courier 6, the person delivering the Platinum Chip... There were 6 decoys as well. Courier 4 died in Primm... What about the 5 others? This is the tale of Courier 3, Jack Brewster, and his losses... and wins in the Mojave.


**AFTER SOME THINKING, I WILL BE MOVING THIS STORY TO A WEBCOMIC MEDIUM. WHEN IT'S READY, IT WILL BE AT **courier3(dot)thewebcomic(dot)com

**Courier 3**

A Fallout: New Vegas Fanfiction

The Story of the 3rd courier, the first man Benny tried to kill in his quest to find the Platinum Chip. With his right-hand robot, and other companions, he searches for Benny and a long lost relative. Will he find peace in this world? Or will he and his companions die, more victims consumed by the Wastes?

Genre: Adventure/Sci-Fi, Rating: T

Chapters: In progress, Unfinished. Planning 11 parts, each with roughly 4-13 Chapters.

**Part 1: Catching up**

**Chapter 1.1: Prelude to war**

In the harsh and violent realm of the Mojave Wasteland, it is a daily fight for survival. Those people just trying to make a life for themselves often can't get the basic essentials. Food, water, and shelter are difficult to obtain, and even harder to keep.

One day, I was born on a bed in a small village called Revellah, in central Montana. Revellah was a town built by the inhabitants of Vault 16. I unwittingly came into a strange, barren, and inhospitable world.

Soon, raiders from a nearby camp attacked my peaceful life. My parents left me in the care of a heavily modified sentry bot, called Freddie. They died to ensure my infant self's escape. Freddie wandered around from place to place, and raised me until I was old enough to defend myself.

I spent much time at the age of 17 retrofitting Freddie to be more than a nanny and bodyguard, but a companion and protector. I found I was pretty handy with repairing and programming robots given proper tools.

I gave Freddie some upgraded laser guns, as well as augmented hardware and software. I scrounged a pair of arms off a destroyed protectron and mounted them onto his chassis. I bolstered his programming with databases of medicine, stealth, tactics, bartering, and combat, not to mention enhanced personality programming. Now he acted like a real person would.

In our travels, we found an odd robotic chassis that was likely crippled by a pulse grenade. An ID plate on the back stated it was a RobCo PDQ-88b Securitron, Model 2060B. I'd never heard of one, but upon further examination, I found some interesting systems. It had rapid fire rocket batteries in its shoulders which apparently hadn't been used ever, self repair and diagnostic nanotechnology, as well as a transciever array, all in great condition. I promptly recognized the value of these items, and installed them onto Freddie. We continued on.

We wandered around for the next few years, taking odd jobs to keep the caps rolling in. One day, I was walking around in Arroyo, a founding city of the NCR. There was a post office, so I stepped in, looking for work. They said that one of their subsidiaries, Mojave Express, had a high priority delivery to be taken to New Vegas.

I remembered that my family had a relative in Vegas, and I needed the 2500 caps, so I took the job.

I still didn't really have a purpose or a goal in life. It took a bullet to the head for me to find my purpose, but we'll get to that later.

So, there I was. A simple package courier for the Mojave Express, bringing some random junk to New Vegas.

**Chapter 1.2: Benny and the Khans**

I was nearly there when I noticed that a man in a checkered coat and several men wearing Great Khans armor were following me from a distance. I knew what I was carrying needed to reach its destination. I knew that the Khans had a reputation for ruthlessness. I also knew I came prepared with guns and explosives stocked inside Freddie's compartment.

I ran into a narrow canyon, Freddie tagging along closely. I took some thermal sensor units, small radios, plasma grenades and C4, connected them together, wrapped duct tape around them, and placed them at certain points in the canyon. Choke points, large boulders, etc. I linked them all to my customized Pip-Boy radio so I could detonate them on a map.

One of the bombs detected a group coming down through the first choke point I set. I pressed the flashing icon, and heard a burst of plasma incinerate an area away from where I was hiding, in an open shack that's long been abandoned.

"Freddie, are you detecting anything bigger than just people down there?"

"No sir," Freddie replied, "Nothing of an immediate threat. There is a Deathclaw 1.2 miles from the canyon, but apparently hasn't noticed anything yet. Any more large explosions may change that."

"Yeah, I'd rather face these mercs than a Deathclaw any day. Better hold off on the bombs."

Suddenly, my pip-boy started beeping wildly. The first group was a trick! Motion sensors were recording a mass of heat signatures coming in and surrounding the shack.

"Freddie, watch the door! We've got incoming!" I yelled.

"Yes, sir!" Freddie said, and then he approached the door, weapons at the ready.

An explosion sent the door flying right into Freddie's chassis, momentarily stunning him. I scrambled for my laser pistol, but didn't find it quickly enough. The butt of a rifle hit me in the back of my head, knocking me out cold.

I awoke curled up on a rough patch of dirt. Kneeling into an upright position, I looked ahead of me and saw some Raiders digging a grave in front, and the same man in a checkered suit brandishing the chessboard I was to have delivered to Vegas.

I looked down at my tied hands, then across the cemetary, at the disabled and battered husk of Freddie. The man in the checkered coat spoke to one of the Mercenaries. Apparently the leader of the Khans was taking orders from the checkered-coated man.

"That's not it. It was supposed to be a platinum coated poker chip." The man said.

The leader of the Khans spoke. "We were paid for one job. If this ain't the right mailman, you'll pay us again to find the real one, or we won't help."

The man sighed, and then replied, "Very well. It was my fault anyway."

"What'll we do with this one?" Another Khan replied.

"Kill him. He killed 10 of your brothers. Take your revenge."

_So I did take some of them with me. But now I'm going to die. Fuck._

The leader of the Khans approached me.

"You know, you're just too much trouble to be left alive. Your little robot over there couldn't save you. Neither could those little explosive stunts you pulled in that canyon. I guess Lady Luck sure hates you somethin' fierce." He paused. "Look, from where you're kneeling," he pulled out a pistol from inside his armor, then continued, "all this must seem like an 18-karot run of bad luck."

He aimed the pistol at my head, "but the truth is… the game was rigged from the start."

_I will find you people and haunt you for the rest of your days. _I thought.

He fired one shot, and I was dead where I knelt.

**Chapter 1.3: Welcome to Hell**

I awoke with extremely blurred vision that cleared eventually. I heard a voice next to me.

"You're awake. How about that."  
>I sat up in the bed, and got an intense pain in my head for the trouble. The man pushed me back onto the bed.<p>

"Whoooaahh. Relax. You've been out of action a couple of days now. You should just relax a sec. You had a gunshot wound to the brain. It's a miracle you survived. Well, thanks to my handiwork as well."

I sat there for a moment, looking at my surroundings, quietly contemplating the area, before settling my eyes back onto the old man in front of me. He was wearing a misplaced smile and a long labcoat. His dreary, aged eyes hinted at a long and intriguing past.

"Let's see what the damage is," he said, eventually, "How about your name. Can you tell me your name?"

It took a moment for my voice to come back, until I cleared my throat and said, "Jack. Jack Brewster."

"Alright Jack. Nice to meet you. Given you were dying at the time; Didn't expect we would have had a chance to introduce ourselves at all. I'm Doctor Henry. You're in a Village in the Sierra Madre Mountains. It's called Jacobstown. Anyway, there's no sense in keeping you in bed, considering you're mostly recovered. Let me just get a couple quick pieces of info from you, then I'll set you out."

I stood up carefully, and then asked the question at the front of my mind.

"Where's the robot I was found with? The tank robot with 4 arms and rocket launchers on his shoulders?"

"Keene, the leader of the Nightkin in town here, brought it in to see if it could be turned back on. It's an Interesting little gadget. It seems to be fixing itself."

"That's not good. If Freddie is turned back on, and I'm not there… He might go berserk, thinking this 'Keene' killed me."

"Oh. That's one hell of a loyal robot. Well, you'd better get over there. The psych profile can wait."

"Will do, Doc. Thanks for patching me up."

"Ah, don't mention it... Say, I saw you had one of them pip-boys they give out in those Vaults. I grew up in a very isolated area myself. Not a Vault, mind you, but just as isolated. Which vault were you in?"

"Well actually, I was born in a small town in Montana that was built by the _Former _inhabitants of a Vault. It was razed to the ground by chem addicts looking for a good fix. I was raised by the robot, Freddie, since my parents died making sure I escaped. He has sentimental value, to say the least. I think of him as my very closest friend." I took a sad breath.

"Ah… Rough life," the Doc sat back onto a round stool, crossing his arms. "I grew up on the Enclave's oil rig, off California... At least, That was the case 'till some dickweed tribal blew it up. Luckily, I left out of frustration with the leadership before that happened. Vegas wouldn't let me in, 'cause Mr. House's robots deemed me 'unfit for entry'."

"Who's this Mr. House?"

"He's the De Facto overlord of the New Vegas Strip. He appeared a few years back, with some freaky robots that had one wheel and freaky TVs for faces, and took over the Vegas area."

_That robot I found must have belonged to him, and got lost or something._

"Alright, I think I've heard enough. See you later, doc."

**Chapter 1.4: Resurrecting Hope**

I walked out of the room I was in, and was shocked to see Super Mutants, normally friendly but large and imposing beasts who mutated from humans; and Nightkin, Blue-colored brutes who had severe schizophrenia due to excessive Stealth Device usage. They were moving around, going about doing various things.

_Ah. NIGHTKIN. Riiighhht…_ I thought.

I walked into a sideroom and found one Super Mutant, a large humanoid fellow standing about six feet tall and had green-tinted skin, examining the parts of Freddie's Chassis.

"You Keene?" I asked

The Mutant turned around and replied in a very rough voice, as if his vocal cords were torn into pieces.

"No. Keene's not here. I'm Dix, the mechanic." He spoke very deliberately, and slowly.

"You have any experience with robots?"

"Not much. I mostly… work with Reactors… and… power. I work with some weapons… and gear too. You must be the… robot's owner."

"Yep," I said happily, "Name's Jack Brewster."

The Mutant thundered over to me and regarded me carefully with large brown eyes. After a moment, he spoke again.

"Are you… Afraid of… me, Jack?"

"Should I be? No, I know mutants from the Master's army are normally very pleasant people. I have no reservations talking to you guys."

The Master was once a man who thought he could change human nature, and Unify the human race. No more differences. No more war.

He was mutated himself, by the same chemical that created the Super Mutants and Nightkin, into an abomination of science… Except he was exposed for too long. It was before my time, but I know a Vault Dweller in California stopped him, and the Master's army scattered across the wastes, finding their own way. A small portion of the army never gave up the Master's teachings, but most learned to coexist with humans.

"That is… a refreshing attitude. Most humans fear… us. They Say we're not truly… people… anymore. Call us abominations. Our kind did things to yours that… most humans… would not easily forgive. Or us… to easily forget."

"I find that you have to let go of past events that have no immediate effect on the present. One must learn from the past, but not allow it to cloud one's judgment." I said.

Dex Scoffed. "And the human's… a philosopher… as well. Tell me, where did you get this… magnificent machine?"

"Freddie? Well, I was raised by him. It's a long story, but suffice it to say that he's been my best friend since my parents were killed."

Dix walked over to Freddie, and I followed. Freddie's self-repair Nanites were taking scrap metal from an old footlocker and patching up the holes in his armor. They were also stripping electronics scattered about on the desk to patch up his internal components. I kneeled down and opened Freddie's chassis. Sure enough, circuitry was being laid down, and data was apparently being restored.

Dix spoke. "What is… The ro- err… 'Freddie' doing?"

"It's actually not him that's doing it. These little guys run off of a secondary system with its own power supply. They're programmed to be released when he gets damaged beyond conventional repair. If he wakes up, He'll dispatch any threats in the area, but if I'm not present, and my pip-boy isn't transmitting my life-signs, he'll deem everything a threat. It's a little bug I haven't worked out yet. On the other hand, if there are signs, he'll track me down peacefully, and hopefully would find me alive and well… In an ideal situation, that is."

I shut the hatch, looked behind me, and Dix looked like he kind of understood. I continued.

"This is, however _not_ an ideal situation. If I had died, and Freddie was turned back on here, he would have killed every last one of you out of anger."

"Bah! A camp full of super mutants could not be felled so easily!" Dix Scoffed.

"Freddie would have been heavily armed, Nigh-indestructible, and very, VERY angry. You've seen the gear he's packing."

"Well, yeah. Stealth field projectors, Miniguns, Gatling Lasers, Plasma Cannons, grenade launchers, Missile Launchers, Flame Throwers, very advanced sensors and Radars, and some other things I couldn't identify."

"That would be the particle shield generators, the Proton Cannon, the Teletronic Computer Hacker, the neural decoder, and the hyper-ablative armor projectors."

Dex looked stunned at all this technological wizardry, as I was when I found it myself. I attempted to explain some of it.

"I love to scrounge all sorts of crap from Pre-War military bases and scientific facilities. It's easier than one might think, and a lot of it was mostly untouched thanks to very efficient security protocols. The shield generator is based on some force-field tech I grabbed from an old physics laboratory in San Francisco. It can project an energy barrier to protect me or anything else within 50 yards. I reverse-engineered the Proton Cannon from a fancy axe in the Big Empty. It fires powerful blasts of Energy that can punch through a vault door, albeit with a large power drain on his reactor. It's a similar story with the Computer Hacker and Neural Decoder. The computer hacker can read data off of active computer systems from 30 feet, and the Neural Decoder can save and play back memories to and from a living brain, as well as induce states of brain function. The Armor Projector I stole from a decommissioned Brotherhood bunker. It can create temporary metal barriers to protect the robot, and can also reinforce steel metal into a more resilient substance. I don't entirely understand most of this tech, but learned enough to install it in my friend here, and some other tech in my pip-boy."

Dex replied, "Good god! Whether you understand the science behind this stuff completely or not, you're a genius to be able to make all this work together!"

"Well, I don't like to brag…"

Freddie's 6 hexagonal eyes faded into a glowing green hue, interrupting my train of thought. Good. That's the non-aggressive color.

"Freddie, how're you doing? Are you functioning okay? Give me a damage report!"

"I'm a little worse for wear, I'm afraid, but I'm sure I'll be fine by the time we find your uncle. I'll run a quick diagnostic… Okay, weapons are… operational, except the proton cannon - It's out of alignment… again. Shields… _might_ work at 50% capacity in a firefight. Computer… undamaged. Stealth mode is barely functional, wouldn't recommend using it, sir. Hmm… Neural decoder is surprisingly, completely undamaged. My sensors are… only operational up to 50 meters. Wow, I must've been really damaged. Normally I'd be all the way up to spec by now."

"Yeah, you took a lot of damage. Are you able to roll around?"

"I don't know, honestly, there was a lot of damage to the area." Freddie said, moving one of his Securitron arms toward his lower section. He popped off a section of plate armor and I took a closer look.

The motivator device was intact, but one of the amplifiers was shot.

"Dex, do you have any spare parts, like from a radio? I need a 10 Megawatt amplifier." I inquired with the Super Mutant next to me.

"Hmm… I have an old military transmitter in my shed. There might be a 100 Megawatt one in it."

"That's really powerful. I can make it work, but Freddie will need to keep a close eye on the power he uses to hover. Else, it'll fry the device, and I don't know if I could replace it. Got it, Freddie?"

"Yes, sir. I'll only send a tenth of a Megawatt through it."

"Good," I said, "Dex, could you go get it? I need to talk to Freddie."

"Sure, Jack. You seem like a nice fellow."

We waited in stoic silence while Dex walked off into another area of the lodge. I sat next to Freddie, and spoke.

"Freddie, do you remember anything from that night, the night you were damaged?"

"I remember I detected pursuers, and we attempted to "shake them off", as it were. I was disabled in the conflict, and you were captured."

"So you were really offline, not just badly damaged."

"Yes Sir. I was completely "unconscious"."

"Well, something happened afterwards. I was shot and left for dead somewhere near here - By a man with considerable influence. Do you have anything in that database of yours?"

"Hmm…" Freddie said curiously.

"Physical description, sir?" he finally asked.

"Um… Young, Like mid-30s. Wears White pants and suit jacket with a pattern in the shape of a checkerboard. He's got a very shiny pistol. 9 Millimeter, if I am not mistaken. He mentioned something about finding a platinum-coated poker chip."

"Intriguing, sir. My databases show nothing of consequence. However, I can scan civilian and military frequencies for anything out of the ordinary."

"You do so. If he shows up anywhere, tell me immediately."

"And If I find him, what will you do?"

"He tried to kill me, but he missed the important parts of my head."

Freddie listened intently.

"I… will aim _at him_ much more accurately." I said, brandishing my laser pistol.

**Chapter 1.5: Three Intrepid Travelers**

Dex approached from behind, holding the Transformer.

"One of the contacts broke off while I was de-soldering it. Sorry about that. The transformer itself is still good, though."

"Eh, I can jury-rig it." I said, and took the transformer from him.

Dex leaned behind me and looked over my shoulder as I was attaching the device.

"I've never seen this kind of technology. It's like something out of science fiction."

"So did everything, once." I replied stoically.

"True," Dex replied, "But I am… curious. You said… you had an uncle… in Vegas. Who is… he?"

I sat back and looked at Dex. "I really don't know much about him, except he's some mechanic. Even more skilled than I am. I know he works in Freeside, trying to improve utilities around the area. He found some Pre-War bunker that had a huge cache of weapons and medical supplies, and he lives there. Other than that, I have no idea what he's like. I've been wandering for years, and I took this Courier job so I could get to the one place where I might belong. Getting shot kind of put a kink in that plan."

Dex was quiet for a time, and I continued working.

"Alright," I said to Freddie, and put the armor back on, "Try it now. But remember. Only one tenth of your regular power."

"Right-o, Jack." Freddie said. His lower section emitted an increasingly loud electrical noise, warming up his anti-grav unit. Suddenly, the sound softened to a muted whirr, and he shot upright, able to move once more.

"Good show, my man!" Freddie yelled enthusiastically. He rolled around the room, happy to no longer be paralyzed. I laughed heartily.

I laughed. "Say, Freddie. You seem much more chipper."

"Indeed, sir. Since I don't have to devote much power to staying mobile, I can reroute power to other functions."

"Just don't overdo it. Some parts of you can't handle much juice."

I turned to Dex, and shook his extremely large hand. "Thank you, Dex. I'll be on my way now."

Dex didn't let go just yet. "Mr. Brewster, might I accompany you to Vegas? I have little keeping me here, and I want to see how people got along in the wastes."

"Certainly," I said, "It will be nice to have more company. What's your favorite weapon?"

"I've got a Gatling gauss cannon I enjoy, as well as a super sledge."

"Alright-y then. Let's get a move on. Freddie?"

"Right behind you, sir."

We exited the room, and walked towards the front door of the lodge. Opening the door, I was greeted by a bright light blinding me. When it cleared, I saw a true wasteland. There were piles of snow about, and super mutants skulking about.

This was Jacobstown. It was truly a Sanctuary for super mutants, Ghouls and humans alike.

However, we would not stay here long, and we quickly got going towards Vegas. The map on my Pip-Boy said that New Vegas was directly to the east.

We ventured through Jacobstown's gate and ventured out into the wasteland.

**Chapter 1.6: "**_**All Roads**_** lead to Vegas" is Coming Soon!**


End file.
